Hello cheese people of the internet. My name is Jobe and this is my first real attempt at making cheese. I decided to try Butterkase because it has a short maturation period. I followed a recipe for the most part but added lipase because I like a lot of flavor. Here is my process:
10L 365 (whole foods) milk
1 packet Thermophilic
Half rennet tablet
2.5 ml CaCl
¼ tsp lipase
108 degrees. 40 minute inoculation, 40 minute rennet set. ½ inch cut, 5 minute heal. Stirred 30 minutes, 60% whey removed, 1 gallon water added. 15 minutes stir at temp.
Pressed 10 lb ~ 4 hrs, 24 lbs 12 hrs.
Brined 12 hrs
Aged 30 days at 60-90% humidity (my current situation is highly variable)*
*I keep it under a glass container to make the humidity higher than the rest of my "cheese cave"
It will be ready just after new years and I am very excited! I noticed that the yield from 10L of milk was about 50% of what I expected and would love advice if anyone has it.
Hi Doc! I am no cheesemaking expert but I'm wondering if your low curd volume is due to the rennet tab? Are those the ones you can get at a grocery store? When I started into cheesemaking I picked those up too. I've heard they don't curd milk well. I bought liquid animal rennet and it works great. Just a thought from reading your post.
Cheese looks nice and I hope she ages well!
The tablets I use are Nova +QSO, the instructions on the back are in french or Italian or something. I got them from a cheese shop in town here but they are the same ones sold on amazon and the like. I guess I could try using liquid rennet but I have read that the results are comparable.
Nice looking cheese! A cheese for you...
The temperature at 108F seems a bit high for the rennet. Not sure if it's an issue. When I make butter cheese I keep the temperature at 102F (which I think is in the high end for renneting).
:) Danbo
Danbo- Are you saying I should bring it to the right temp for thermophilic culture but then let the temp drop before putting in the rennet?
Well... Even small changes in a recipe could change a lot. There i a lot of different ways to make a butter cheese and the recipe that you use could be just perfect.
I heat up to 39C and then after cutting the curd I heat up a bit more by removing whey and adding hot water.
I thougt that 39 was near the upper limit for the rennet but I just found out that "...a temperature of 40 ° C to 42 ° C is ideal for rennet coagulation."(http://www.azaquar.com/en/doc/cheese-technology (http://www.azaquar.com/en/doc/cheese-technology)).
Most cheeses are renneted at 30-32C but butter cheese are usually done at a higher temp.
When rennet is used at a higher temperature / for a longer time, (I think) the curd will hold more moist resulting in a moister cheese. Also the curd is much firmer when cutting.
:-) Danbo
Here's another recipe (https://www.cheesemaking.com/Butterkase.html) for you to consider.
-Boofer-
The recipe Boofer refers to is good!
Boofer and Danbo, are you guys using the geo in your butterkase ?
Normally I use it... I'm not sure that it has a lot of effect when ageing for 14-28 days. Not sure...
Do you know Boofer?
Sorry, never made a Butterkase. Years ago I flirted with the idea, but never did. :-\
I'm in the process of making Fourme d'Ambert #6 right now as I'm typing this. I'm using PLA in this make to help protect the rind. I think if I was going to make a Butterkase I would probably try to include something similar to protect the rind.
-Boofer-
I agree. I tried to maintain a natural rind on a previous butter cheese and it is hard (but I'm not that good at maintaining rinds)... I wax mine...
What are geo and PLA?
Jobe, geo is short for geotrichium, a yeast that is used in the affinage of many cheeses. It can occur naturally, but what you get with a wild variety is of course unpredictable, so when it is specifically desired, a particular variety of geo can be added to the milk or sprayed on after the cheese is pressed. One example where geo is often used (typically included along with PC - Penicillium Candida) is in mold-ripened cheeses such as bries and camemberts.
PLA is a blend of several ripening molds and bacteria, principally some geo and B. Linens. The latter is the bacteria that produces an orange/red color to the typical "stinky cheese" such as muenster, reblochon, or tallegio. Specifically, this is the bacteria that produces a "stinky feet" odor. As you can imagine, not everyone likes it -- but it does add a tremendous depth of flavor to any cheese, so even for cheeses that are not intended to be mold-ripened to the point of softening, B. Linens is often added or encouraged, to develop the rind up to a certain point. Again, it is naturally occurring, so you can encourage B. Linens to develop by following a rind treatment that keeps the rind moist with a 3% brine; often the brine is made partly with white wine. But using PLA, or just a straight B. Linens addition to the recipe, will again give you a more specific and predicable result.
If you haven't yet done so, let me encourage you to explore two sources. One is free - read through the descriptions of different cultures, molds, yeasts, bacterias, etc. in an on-line cheese supplier site such as www.artisangeek.com (http://www.artisangeek.com). The other is to purchase the book, Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking by Gianaclis Caldwell. This is the "Cheese Bible" for many of us on this forum -- super helpful in understanding what is going on at the scientific level, but still accessible for the lay person / hobby cheese maker.
And one other comment: 108° seems WAY TOO HOT for adding the rennet. Rennet works better up to a point; for example, it will give a stronger/faster set at 98° than at 88°. But then it tapers off and becomes less effective at even higher temperatures. Most cheese recipes add the rennet at somewhere between 88-98°. And most recipes ripen the milk in the same temperature range.
Thank you for all of the advice and information awakephd! I will do some research on the different cultures and molds very soon. I feel silly because after I posted asking about what geo referred to I actually within a few minutes found it using google but I still wanted more personalized information so I left the question posted.
You say milk is ripened at a lower temp but doesn't thermophilic culture like it hotter?
I am very niaeve to the flavors and names of different mold ripened cheeses, but I just tried Gorgonzola last night and I think I am in love. One of my next few cheeses will be some kind of rougforti cheese so I have a lot of research to do!
Thanks again, I look forward to more interactions between us in the future.
The ripening stage of any cheese lets the bacteria get well established ... and for thermophilic bacteria, 90° is just fine. Yes, meso can also grow at that temperature, but if you didn't add any, you aren't likely to pick up enough to make any difference in the short time of ripening. Some cheeses make use of both meso and thermo intentionally, and of course if you are using raw milk, both will be in the milk (along with various others) -- but the bacteria(s) you use to "seed" the milk with will be the one(s) that dominate(s).
With many thermophilic recipes, it is in the cooking stage, after the curd is formed and cut, that you go up into the temperature range that thermo can tolerate (not necessarily multiply rapidly at), but that will kill off any meso bacteria. The enzymes left behind by the dead meso bacteria can continue to add some nuance to the flavor.
Ok, I must make misinterpreted the recipe I mimicked. Next cheese I will keep the temp more in line with what you have suggested.
The search function is very useful. As a PhD candidate you no doubt have to do a bit of research. I would recommend you avail yourself of the many postings in the forum. A lot of people have already made the mistakes (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10888.0.html) you may encounter.
Attention to detail, following a recipe, and taking good notes helps to assure a good outcome. ;)
-Boofer-
Quick update. I bought a scale and this cheese is 2 lb 8 oz from 2.5 gallons of "365" wholefoods brand milk. From what I have read, a pressed cheese should be about 1 lb per gallon of milk, so the yield here is fine.
Quote from: DoctorCheese on December 22, 2016, 11:50:03 PM
Hello cheese people of the internet. My name is Jobe and this is my first real attempt at making cheese. I decided to try Butterkase because it has a short maturation period. I followed a recipe for the most part but added lipase because I like a lot of flavor. Here is my process:
10L 365 (whole foods) milk
1 packet Thermophilic
Half rennet tablet
2.5 ml CaCl
¼ tsp lipase
108 degrees. 40 minute inoculation, 40 minute rennet set. ½ inch cut, 5 minute heal. Stirred 30 minutes, 60% whey removed, 1 gallon water added. 15 minutes stir at temp.
Pressed 10 lb ~ 4 hrs, 24 lbs 12 hrs.
Brined 12 hrs
Aged 30 days at 60-90% humidity (my current situation is highly variable)*
*I keep it under a glass container to make the humidity higher than the rest of my "cheese cave"
It will be ready just after new years and I am very excited! I noticed that the yield from 10L of milk was about 50% of what I expected and would love advice if anyone has it.
Can you please clarify the cooking directions for a Newb like me? Specifically the 15 minute step.
Can CaCl be omitted if using Raw Goat or Cow? Will either milk work the same?
Waiting on Lipase from a supplier. Already have the rennet and thermo.
Hello Cfhebertjr,
For the record, I am an amateur and as it says this was basically my first cheese. In light of that, I would advice you to follow this recipe http://www.cheesemaking.com/Butterkase.html (http://www.cheesemaking.com/Butterkase.html). Having said that, I have great news for you! I plan to crack this cheese open tomorrow to give it a taste, so we will soon know if it was wise of me, in my nievity, to add lipase to a butterkase ;D.
Now, to answer your specific questions.
Quote from: Cfhebertjr on January 13, 2017, 12:06:38 AM
Can you please clarify the cooking directions for a Newb like me? Specifically the 15 minute step.
When making butterkase, regardless of the recipe, you will eventually "wash" the curds. This process consists of removing a portion of the whey, then adding back in hot (~105 F) unchlorinated water followed by a period of stirring. Doing the washing process will, as I understand it, slow down/halt the acidification of the curds and leave you with a more mild cheese as you would expect out of this type of cheese (and other washed curds e.g. Gouda). For this specific cheese, I took out about a gallon of whey and added in a gallon of water, then stirred that for about 15 minutes.
Quote from: Cfhebertjr on January 13, 2017, 12:06:38 AM
Can CaCl be omitted if using Raw Goat or Cow? Will either milk work the same?
That is my understanding, yes.
I would wait to add lipase to Butterkase until tomorrow when I will post the resulting flavor and some pictures. For all I know it will have unforseen consequences, but hopefully they are tasty ones >:D I also made another Butterkase recently that I did not add lipase and followed the recipe I linked you to above. https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,16073.0.html (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,16073.0.html)
For a video tutorial I found useful, https://youtu.be/Vb8fRWtqRmg (https://youtu.be/Vb8fRWtqRmg)
Quote from: Boofer on December 23, 2016, 08:02:42 AM
Here's another recipe (https://www.cheesemaking.com/Butterkase.html) for you to consider.
-Boofer-
That is the recipe I use and it always turns out good. I age it with a washed natural rind up to two months and it develops a very nice taste.
Taste Test
I did a taste test today of my modified knock-off Butterkase and the results were very interesting. The texture is very much like the baby cheeses you can get at the supermarket aka soft and a bit spongy. However, the taste is what you would expect given what I did for the recipe. Buttery but with a funky piquant note from the lipase that I put in it. My girlfriend (who did not like it) described it as almost being a blue cheese taste despite there being no blue mold present. What I have created is a monstrosity... but one that I really enjoy the taste of. Also, the end product did not have an odor.
That looks awesome. I'm jealous ;D
Looks great! AC4U! ;D
Looks great and have a cheese on me!
I can't believe that it is your first cheese. It looks really good. Wow! AC4U.
Nice!
Jobe, I expect the taste issue is indeed due to the lipase. Lipase, in my experience, has to be used with extreme caution and in very miniscule quantities. :) But AC4U for your first cheese!
I 100% agree. While I do enjoy this cheeses flavor, I would not put lipase in a mild cheese like this a second time!